Hyypia impressed by Matip’s start to life at Liverpool

Sami Hyypia knows a thing or two about being a centre-back and the Liverpool legend has been impressed by current Reds defender Joel Matip.

Hyypia racked up over 450 appearances for Liverpool during a decade at the club and won a slew of trophies at Anfield, including two FA Cups, two League Cups, the UEFA Cup and the Champions League.

The Finn was a stalwart at the heart of the Reds defence between 1999 and 2009 and made the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions, as well as the UEFA Team of the Year once.

Matip is still some way from matching Hyypia’s success but has made a strong start to life at Anfield since moving from Schalke over the summer – unbeaten in his 14 appearances after missing the Burnley and Bournemouth defeats through injury.

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“I knew him from Germany, I think I played against him and then managed Leverkusen when he was at Schalke,” said Hyypia of the 25-year-old.

“He’s a good player. He’s a big guy, dominant player, very comfortable on the ball and that’s a big piece of how the team plays.

“When you want to play football, you need to have somebody who is comfortable on the ball and on the other hand a strong defender.

“His style of play is that he is comfortable on the ball but I think that comes from confidence, he is very confident that he can play football.”

Matip’s ability on the ball and his defensive positioning have been apparent in his Premier League career so far and the comparisons to Hyypia have already been bountiful – although the 43-year-old has spotted one key difference.

Hyypia joked: “If you want to see similarities, I think there are some – but I think he’s a bit quicker than me!”